My random ramblings and stray reflections about anything from social justice and global/international issues to internship/job postings peppered with the occasional event info that might interest friends and foes alike.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

New York Democracy Forum Presents: Kemal Dervis

McGraw Hill Auditorium

May 22, 2006 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM

The Foreign Policy Association and the National Endowment for Democracy invite you to attend a lecture by Kemal Dervis, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, on "Development and Democratic Governance: Some Key Issues."

Speaker:

Kemal Dervis

Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Date:

Monday, May 22, 2006

Location:

McGraw Hill Auditorium

1221 Avenue of the Americas (Entrance on 49th Street – take escalators to second floor auditorium)

Advanced registration is required. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Kemal Dervis is head of the United Nations Development Programme, the UN's global development network. He is also the Chair of the United Nations Development Group and was recently appointed as a member of the High Level Panel on UN System-wide Coherence in the Areas of Development, Humanitarian Assistance and the Environment.

Prior to his appointment with UNDP, Mr. Dervis was a member of the Turkish Parliament representing Istanbul from 2002 to 2005. From 2001 to 2002, he was Minister for Economic Affairs and the Treasury, responsible for Turkey's recovery programme after the devastating financial crisis that hit the country in February 2001. From 1977-2001 Mr. Dervis held various positions at the World Bank including Vice-President for the Middle East and North Africa Region and Vice-President for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management.

Mr. Dervis earned his Bachelor and Master's degrees in economics from the London School of Economics and his Ph.D. from Princeton University. He has taught at the Middle East Technical University, Bilkent and Princeton universities. He has published many articles in the fields of international trade, economic development and international affairs. His latest publication is “A Better Globalization: Legitimacy, Governance and Reform” for the Center for Global Development.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

The whole issue of the US government having access to my phone records and even emails is not something that shocks me. We're talking about an Administration that will stoop ever lower to do what it needs to in order to "protect its people". They're doing a darn good job at that, I tell ya.

Being a Pakistani and a Muslim means that my phone records and emails were being screened ever since I set foot in this country just a few years ago. Post 9/11 America is a scary place.

But what makes me even more scared is the fact that corporations have been voluntarily providing this information to the government. How ridiculous and appalling is that?! These monstrosities have NOTHING to do with the government! But now I guess they do.

The first question that pops in my mind is why are we making so much noise over how the government is handling this abysmal state of affairs; They were always expected of acting in such a fashion!

But - not the corporations!

Why aren't we asking them any questions and demanding answers? Their allegiance is to their customers. If we wanted, we could boycott their products and go to another company, though that puts us consumers in a unique concundrum in this particular instance: the largest telecommunications companies are the ones participating in this endeavor! Are we to expect such behavior from the private sector now, too? Who do we turn to? Where do we go from here?

I just went to Verizon's website and navigated to the Media section where I read their statement on this whole ordeal. I am still not satisfied, and intend on getting on their backs when the time comes - after my final exams!

Zeeshan's shared items

Zeeshan Suhail is a communications professional with several years of experience in international private sector and development organizations. He is a Board Member for the Washington, D.C.-based Americans for Informed Democracy and the New York City-based World Faith. His articles on international development and Western-Muslim world relations have been featured in media outlets internationally. Zeeshan has advanced leadership certifications and has been selected as a Carnegie New Leader by the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs and a Muslim Leader of Tomorrow by the Cordoba Initiative.
Zeeshan holds an undergraduate degree in International Business from Queens College-CUNY (where he was also the first Muslim Vice President of student government in the college's then 35 years of student government history) and a graduate degree in International Relations from the Graduate Center-CUNY. Zeeshan is fluent in Urdu, and proficient in other South Asian languages and enjoys independent cinema, old South Asian film songs and traveling. He is based in Lahore, Pakistan.